Percy Takes the Plunge
Percy Takes the Plunge in the US is the eleventh episode of the second season and the thirty-seventh episode of the series. It aired in the US on the Shining Time Station episodes, Mapping it Out and Schemer Goes Camping. In this episode, Percy wants to see why he's forbidden to pass the "Danger" board on the quay, but soon wishes he hadn't. Plot One day at the harbour, a tired Henry was looking to rest in the sheds after a hard day's work, but instead of peace he finds Percy telling Bill and Ben about the time he braved bad weather to help Thomas's passengers return home. However, Percy was embellishing the tale, as he speaks about how he braved through flood waters using the phrase "Water's nothing to an engine with determination". Bill and Ben shower Percy with praise and Henry angrily tells them to leave, as the sheds are only for engines belonging to the Fat Controller. The engines leave and Percy was angry, having been enjoying himself. However, Henry just tells Percy how silly his line about water and determination is. Percy leaves, but not without quickly reminding Henry of when he refused to leave a tunnel because of rain. Later, Percy and Thomas come across a board reading "DANGER Engines must not pass this board". Thomas tells Percy that they mustn't go past it and tells him about the time he passed a board and fell down a mine. Percy can't see a mine, not realising that the foundations of the rails have sunk and the line now leads into the sea. As a result, Percy, who was now feeling very cocky, decides that the board was stupid and makes a plan to pass it. As he brings some trucks to the harbour, Percy asks them to bump him when they arrive at the quay. The trucks happily agree, having never been asked to bump an engine before. Percy's plan was to pretend to stop at the quay and then have the trucks bump him past the board after which he can make them stop However, Percy, in his foolishness, has forgotten that trucks can't be trusted. At the quay, the trucks bump Percy hard enough that both his driver and fireman fall off the footplate and push him past the board. Percy quickly realises his mistake and tells the trucks to stop, but there is no chance of that and they happily push Percy into the sea. Later, as Percy sits in the water, the Fat Controller scolds the tank engine for his naughtiness. Percy begs to get out, but the Fat Controller explains that they must wait until high tide and hopes that this will teach Percy a lesson. By the time the cranes can be brought to rescue Percy, it was night. Working hard, the cranes pull a cold, weak, and filthy Percy from the sea. The next morning, Percy was taken to the works to be cleaned and mended by Henry, who finds the incident very amusing after Percy's earlier boasts. When Percy states he didn't like the water, Henry replies he needs more determination and that perhaps he will like it better next time. Percy, however, hopes there will be no "next time". Characters *Thomas *Henry *Percy *Sir Topham Hatt *Bill and Ben (not named) *Diesel (cameo) Locations *Brendam *Knapford Harbour *The Works (mentioned) *Henry's Tunnel (mentioned) Notes *This episode is based on the story of the same name from The Railway Series book, The Eight Famous Engines. *On the Best of Percy release, the episode was called "Percy Takes A Plunge". *In Germany, this episode was called "Percy Takes a Bath". In Norway, it is named "Percy Goes Into the Water". The Croatian title is "Percy Dove". In Holland the title is "Percy Plunges In". The Italian name is "The Dip of Percy". In Denmark, it is titled "Percy Falls In". In Japan, this episode is called "Percy fell Into The Sea". It is called "Percy Plop" in Finland. *In the restored version, Bill and Ben leave the shed a few seconds earlier. *The first season episodes, The Sad Story of Henry and Down the Mine are referenced. *The "DANGER" sign is re-used from Down the Mine. *A picture from this episode's Buzz Book adaptation shows a deleted scene in which Percy was with Thomas after being rescued from the sea. *In the UK narration, after Sir Topham Hatt tells Percy they have to wait until high tide to get him out, he says he hopes it'll teach Percy to "obey orders". In the US narrations, he hopes it'll teach Percy to "take care of himself". *In the scene with Thomas and Percy at the harbour, a truck with the letter "M" on it can be seen. *A barge has "Terrey" written on it; possibly a reference to crew member Terence Permane. *Ringo Starr's US narration wasn't released on home media until 2001 when it was included on Best of Percy. *In a rare picture, Percy was frowning, covered in mud while he was at the quay with Thomas and his piston was lose. This may have been a deleted scene from towards the end of the episode. Errors *The narrator says that Percy "ran off to the harbour singing", but he was already at the harbour. *Percy's story was about the events of Percy's Promise, which wasn't televised until the third season. *When the camera pans down on Thomas, several trucks in the background are derailed. *Before Percy takes the plunge, there was a shot of him already on the quayside, but in the next scene, he slides past the board. *In the restored version, Bill and Ben's whistles and chuffing sounds are still heard after they leave. *Percy was smiling when he slides past the board. *When Percy pulls up next to Thomas, two trucks behind them are derailed. *Just as Percy plunges into the sea, two of his trucks become derailed. *The narrator says that Percy couldn't see that the track led to the water when it was very clear. *Diesel makes a cameo, but he wasn't introduced until the next episode. Bill and Ben also appear, but they aren't introduced until The Diseasel. *When Percy was lifted out of the water, a workman has blu-tak on his neck. *When Henry enters the shed, his tender bounces. *During Percy's trip to the harbour, his brakevan changes. *During the episode, Percy's left (viewer's right) cylinder was loose. *Ben's nameplate was peeling off when Henry puffs in. *In the close-up of Percy being pushed, a hand can be seen in the water pushing the train. US Home Video Releases *Daisy and Other Thomas Stories *Best of Percy (as Percy Takes a Plunge) Merchandise *Wooden Railway (discontinued) *Take Along(discontinued) Gallery PercyTakesthePlungerestoredtitlecard.png|Restored title card PercyTakesThePlunge1993TitleCard.png|1993 US Title Card PercyTakesaPlungetitlecard.jpg|Percy Takes a Plunge title card PercyTakesThePlungeKoreanTitleCard.PNG|Korean Title Card PercyTakesthePlungeJapanesetitlecard.jpg|Japanese title card PercyTakesthePlungeSlovenianTitleCard.png|Slovenian Title Card PercyTakesthePlungeGermanTitleCard.jpg|German Title Card PercyTakesthePlungeUkrainianTitleCard.jpg|Ukrainian Title Card PercyTakesthePlungeFinnishtitlecard.png|Finnish title card PercyTakesthePlunge.png|Henry, Ben, Percy and Bill PercyTakesthePlunge1.png PercyTakesthePlunge2.png|Deleted scene PercyTakesthePlunge3.png|Bill PercyTakesthePlunge4.png|Percy PercyTakesthePlunge5.png|Ben PercyTakesthePlunge6.png PercyTakesthePlunge7.png PercyTakesthePlunge8.png|The Danger sign re-used PercyTakesthePlunge9.png PercyTakesthePlunge10.png|Thomas PercyTakesthePlunge11.png PercyTakesthePlunge12.png PercyTakesthePlunge13.png PercyTakesthePlunge14.png PercyTakesthePlunge15.png PercyTakesthePlunge16.png PercyTakesthePlunge17.png PercyTakesthePlunge18.png PercyTakesthePlunge19.png PercyTakesthePlunge20.png PercyTakesthePlunge21.png PercyTakesthePlunge22.png PercyTakesthePlunge23.jpg PercyTakesthePlunge24.png|Deleted scene PercyTakesthePlunge25.png PercyTakesthePlunge26.jpg|Deleted scene PercyTakesthePlunge27.jpg PercyTakesthePlunge28.png PercyTakesthePlunge29.png PercyTakesthePlunge30.png PercyTakesthePlunge31.png PercyTakesthePlunge32.png PercyTakesthePlunge33.png PercyTakesthePlunge34.png PercyTakesthePlunge35.png PercyTakesthePlunge36.png PercyTakesthePlunge37.png PercyTakesthePlunge38.png PercyTakesthePlunge39.png|Sir Topham Hatt PercyTakesthePlunge40.png PercyTakesthePlunge41.png PercyTakesthePlunge42.png PercyTakesthePlunge43.png PercyTakesthePlunge44.png PercyTakesthePlunge45.png PercyTakesthePlunge46.png PercyTakesthePlunge47.PNG PercyTakesthePlunge49.png PercyTakesthePlunge50.png PercyTakesthePlunge51.png PercyTakesthePlunge52.png PercyTakesthePlunge53.png PercyTakesthePlunge54.png PercyTakesthePlunge55.png PercyTakesthePlunge56.png PercyTakesthePlunge57.png PercyTakesthePlunge58.png PercyTakesthePlunge59.png PercyTakesthePlunge60.png PercyTakesthePlunge61.png PercyTakesthePlunge62.png PercyTakesthePlunge63.png PercyTakesthePlunge64.png PercyTakesthePlunge66.jpg PercyTakesthePlunge67.jpg|Percy at Gordon's Hill in a deleted scene PercyTakesthePlunge68.jpg|Deleted scene PercyTakesthePlunge69.png PercyTakesthePlunge70.png PercyTakesthePlunge71.png PercyTakesthePlunge72.png PercyTakesthePlunge73.png PercyTakesthePlunge74.png PercyTakesthePlunge75.png PercyTakesthePlunge76.png PercyTakesthePlunge77.png Take-AlongPercyTakesaPlunge.jpg|Take-Along Category:Season 2 episodes Category:Thomas and Friends episodes Category:1986 television episodes Category:1980s television episodes Category:Episodes Category:Films, TV Shows And Wildlife Wiki Category:Double Trouble And Other Thomas Stories (1992, US) Category:Double Trouble And Other Thomas Stories (February 27, 1992) Full Category:Thomas Gets Bumped And Other Thomas Adventures (2001, US) Category:Thomas Gets Bumped And Other Thomas Adventures (July 24, 2001) Full Category:A Proud Day For James And Other Thomas Adventures (2002, US) Category:A Proud Day For James And Other Thomas Adventures (March 5, 2002) Full Category:Thomas And His Friends Do Their Best (2005, US) Category:Thomas And His Friends Do Their Best (March 8, 2005) Full Category:Dockside Adventures (2007, US) Category:Dockside Adventures (August 7, 2007) Full